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I love combining interesting handmade beads with my own beads. Especially lampworked glass beads. I wish I had the time and the set up to do it myself but that’s a whole other learning curve that I’m not ready to approach. And why do I need to when I can buy amazing beads from Sue Kennedy at SueBeads?

Sue’s blog is in the list, on the right, of the blogs I follow regularly. Whenever I look at her Etsy Shop I see something I want or need or both!

Here are the beads I have my eye on to buy next. I can’t decide between that set or this one.(There’s a good chance I’ll go right from posting this blog to her Etsy shop to buy them.) Because I like a matte finish on the beads I combine with my own beach rocks and silver beads, I usually ask Sue to etch them for me before sending them. She has always been willing and gracious about doing it and she ships very quickly.

This style is my new favorite:

See how the etched finish makes them look like a treasure I just found on the beach?

Sue’s beads enhancing my beads:

When I buy Sue’s egg-shaped beads, I ask her to also etch them. See the speckled eggs at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock?

The first beads I ever bought from Sue were the etched clear beads with trailings of fine silver. Her silvery long green focal beads have inspired me too. (Upper left of second photo.)

Right now Sue is featuring a great selection of her enameled rondelle beads in her Etsy shop. Last year I was randomly chosen to participate in a blog hop with these beads. Blog hops and challenges are a great way to shake up your creative juices.

Recently, I was looking for a knitting project I had stuffed into my mess of a linen/storage closet last December. Look what was in the bag with the yarn!

An order from Sue I had stashed away when the holiday madness was taking over. I don’t know why they never made their way into my studio. What a cool surprise to find them again, just when I need some new beads to work with as I add to my summer jewelry inventory. I believe the bumpy beads on the left were a little gift Sue added in with my order. While they are not the style I usually choose from Sue’s shop, I found them to be the perfect catalyst for a new earring design.

Do you have a favorite bead maker or Etsy shop that inspires you? Share the love!

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…when I neglect my blog. The longer I go without posting something, the harder it is to think I have something to post. I start second guessing anything I might want to say, or any photos I might want to post and then more time goes by. I get out of practice. Then I feel like I should justify how I spent my time in the last month when I didn’t blog. Sheesh. I am my own worst critic.

Life on this tiny island in Maine is crazy busy in May and June as we get ready for the summer rush of business, activities, friends, and family. I’ve been working in the studio, getting jewelry into galleries, weeding the perennial garden, planting some vegetables, spending time with my Mom, painting the bathroom, taking a two-day trip to NYC, and catching up with friends who have arrived for the summer. Who knows where the time goes. It just does. So, I’m jumping back into the blog pool and letting go of why I did or didn’t do it for over a month.

Part of my process in making jewelry is to make up a batch of components to mix and match in earring and necklace designs. I cut, hammered, and tumbled some brass discs to get them ready for applying patina. I also soldered some 14 gauge (it might be 16) copper wire rings and hammered them flat.

Next I applied some patina solutions.

When they are sanded, sealed with lacquer, and finished with a preservation wax, they will be ready to use in earring designs like the one below.

So that’s a little bit of what I’ve been up to. And, I’ve missed telling you about it.